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Chapter 12

Chapter 12. Sustainable Tourism and Information Technology. Chapter 12 Learning Objectives. After studying this chapter you should be able to: Analyze how IT can improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of tourism organizations, communities and destinations

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Chapter 12

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  1. Chapter 12 • Sustainable Tourism and Information Technology

  2. Chapter 12 Learning Objectives • After studying this chapter you should be able to: • Analyze how IT can improve the environmental, social and economic sustainability of tourism organizations, communities and destinations • Explain how IT systems can be used to ensure environmental preservation, purity and physical integrity • Describe the role of IT systems in promoting social equity and community well-being, local empowerment and the preservation of cultural diversity • Understand how IT systems can ensure economic viability and local prosperity • Explain how IT systems can facilitate tourists to behave more sustainably in tourist settings

  3. Key Concepts • Carbon calculator • Citizen and tourist scientists • Environmental management system (EMS) • Geographic information system (GIS) • Last-mile connectivity • Pro-poor tourism • Social capital and social equity • Social entrepreneurs • Voluntourist • Weather and climate change system

  4. Sustainable Tourism • Sustainable Development • development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (WCED, 1987) • Sustainable Tourism • tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities (UNEP/UNWTO, 2005)

  5. Applications of IT in Sustainable Tourism • Carbon Calculator • Community Informatics • Computer Simulations • Destination Management Systems (DMS) • Economic Impact Analysis • Environmental Management Systems (EMS) • Gamification • Geographic Information Systems (GIS) • Global Positioning Systems (GPS) • Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) • Location-Based Services (LBS) • Virtual Tourism • Weather and Climate Change Systems

  6. Figure 12.1 Twelve Aims of Sustainable Tourism Source: UNEP/UNWTO, 2005

  7. Resource Efficiency and IT • Application of IT to reduce aviation fuel usage • Systems that optimize flight routes • Coordination of arrival and departure times to reduce holding patterns caused by delays • Continuous descent systems • Design of lighter and more fuel efficient aircraft • Energy and waste reduction in hotels • Energy management systems • Monitoring water usage

  8. Environmental Purity & Physical Integrity • Use of DMSs to manage access to natural resources • Location-based services used for sustainable education and interpretation • Computer technology monitors and manages efficient use of resources including: • water (low-flush toilets, low-flow showerheads) • energy (solar power generators, energy-saving light-bulbs) • pollution (noise, air and visual pollution) • recycling and waste management • Carbon footprint calculators • Use of CAD software to design more efficient buildings

  9. Mobile Apps for Environmental Awareness

  10. Biological Diversity • Citizen scientists: handheld devices can allow tourists to monitor animal and bird species and other environmental phenomenon on their digital devices as they travel • Tourist scientist: combining tourism, research, conservation and computers to identify and track flora and fauna (e.g. Earthwatch, Cyber trackers) • Voluntourists: make meaningful contributions to communities and wildlife in destinations

  11. Virtual Substitute Travel Experiences • Tourists can experience some benefits of travel by staying home and using technology to virtually experience the destination, removing any environmental damage to the destination. • Examples: • 360cities.net • Google Streetview • Google Earth VR • virtualtravelevents.com • Gala360

  12. Social Equity & Community Wellbeing • Last-mile connectivity: IT advances have made it possible to connect even the most remote communities to address information asymmetry • IT democratizes and equalizes the community by giving all residents and enterprises equal access to technology • IT networks allow people to connect to knowledge, education, tourist markets, and destination management systems • IT contributes to social equity by attracting the right tourists • IT supports social enterprise • IT provides information and access for handicapped travellers • IT supports the monitoring and reporting of human rights abuses

  13. Local Control • Community informatics empower communities and supports stakeholder engagement • Remote input to meetings • Electronic polling • Scenario-based design

  14. Cultural Richness • IT can contribute to cultural richness by: • Disseminating better understanding of customs and traditions to the benefit of tourists and host communities • Promoting the visibility of cultural resources – especially new or small ones • Monitoring tourism impacts on cultural resources and visitor flow management strategies • Building partnerships between cultural and tourism operators to strengthen their market position

  15. Economic Viability & Local Prosperity • IT can impact local prosperity by building: • Financial capital: providing online communication with lending organizations • Human capital: providing increased knowledge of new skills through distance learning and processes required for certification • Natural capital: providing opportunities to access national government policies online • Social capital: cultivating contacts beyond the local community • Physical capital: lobbying for the provision of basic infrastructure including data and telecommunications infrastructure

  16. Economic Viability & Local Prosperity • IT Challenges • Lack of investment for IT • Lack of training and expertise • Lack of financial or technical infrastructure • Language barriers

  17. Figure 12.4 Factors determining IT use by SMEs(Adapted from Buhalis, 2003, p. 143) PUSH FACTORS PULL FACTORS Demands of Digital Travellers Tourist Demand Vendors of IT Systems Interoperability with intranets, extranets & Internet Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises Government Policies Consortia & Marketing Alliances Global Competition Certification Programs Education & Training Accounting Systems

  18. Employment Quality & Capacity Building • IT can be used to: • Attract talented employees to the tourism industry • Improve the quality of training and education • Examples • MOOCs • BEST Education Network • The International Ecotourism Society • Rainforest Alliance

  19. Discussion Questions • What kind of digital infrastructure is needed for tourists to become citizen scientists in destinations? • What are the special needs and challenges faced by SME’s regarding the sustainable use of technologies in the digital age? • How can indigenous communities in tourism destinations be empowered with IT? Find examples of how technology has been used to improve the wellbeing of indigenous communities.

  20. Discussion Questions • Identify a specific tourism destination or protected area that uses location-based services. How are these services likely to improve the destination’s sustainability? • Find a destination management system with features focusing on the environmental integrity of the destination. Describe these features and their likely impact.

  21. Useful Websites

  22. Case Study ICONEM • Founded in 2013 and based in France • ICONEM creates: • digital replicas of endangered heritage sites • 3D models • museum exhibits • Drone footage, 3D video, laser scanners, photogrammetry, and Lidar data is used to create highly accurate virtual replicas of real sites • Projects in 21 countries including Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria to capture sites under danger from war and neglect • Drones used to monitor looting and footage is cross-referenced with information from art markets and sellers to identify looters • Digital content curated for museum exhibitions immerses visitors in endangered sites

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